Josh Maher's Blog » Entrepreneurship
startup moats
Tweet Figuring out the business strategy for most startups is a hard problem, should there be a focus on users, conversion, margins, licensing, etc? These are all operational aspects that can be changed and adjusted over time and unfortunately these are the primary areas of concern for most startups. What is missing is figuring out where the startup fits in the overall picture, what is their strategic advantage relative to other businesses (young and old)? I came across this tweet by Brad Burnham from Union Square Ventures, they clearly get the question about strategy and have formed an investment thesis around this understanding. USV in 140 characters: invest in large networks of engaged users, differentiated by user experience, and defensible though network effects — Brad Burnham (@BradUSV) June 8, 2011 Looking at USV’s track record, they … Read entire article »
Filed under: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Investing, Startups
Investing Lessons from the World Financial Symposium
Tweet If you haven’t been following the series on investing lessons from venture capitalists, now is a good time to start. The latest in the series comes from some great insight that was provided at the World Financial Symposium here in Seattle. The question of course that everyone has next is what the hell is the world financial symposium and why is it in Seattle? Amazingly of course the angel investors on hand at the symposium generally had the same thought in response to the always outstanding question of why isn’t Seattle a bigger startup community? Regardless of the amount of angel and venture capitalist investment that happens in the region, there is an amazing amount of talent on the entrepreneur and investor sides of the table. Some of the lessons from … Read entire article »
Filed under: Economics, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Investing, Seattle, Startups, stocks, Technology
Human misjudgement
Tweet Great audio of Charlie Munger’s 1995 speech. There is an updated copy of the speech in Munger’s book Poor Charlie’s Almanack. Enjoy… … Read entire article »
Filed under: Economics, Entrepreneurship, Investing
10 Brief Thoughts On Success
Tweet Be Wise This is hard to do, it is easy to be intelligent about things, it is moderately hard to make decisions, combining those two things seems to be one of the most difficult things to do in life. When you combine a level of intelligence about a subject with the ability to make good decisions on that subject you begin to exhibit wisdom. It comes with experience, education, and a willingness to take risks. Needs Are Important Understanding the needs of the people you are working with is critical. This takes emotional intelligence, this takes experience, and this takes a willingness to listen. Regardless of the people you are working with – 3 billion customers, 3 – $1b customers, or 3 peer groups in your organization – understanding their needs in … Read entire article »
Filed under: career, Entrepreneurship
High Intensity vs Endurance
Tweet I read this study over on the Journal of Obesity – The Effect of High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise on Body Composition of Overweight Young Males and it got me thinking about personalities and trading vs investing. It is revealing that the High Intensity workouts that are being made popular by Crossfit, 4 Hour Body, P90x, The Biggest Loser, etc. are the kind of workouts that show quick results and burn a lot of fat. It is also interesting that a dabble into day trading with the right methods also show quick results and increase bank accounts. What is more revealing though is that these high intensity workouts are not usually sustained over a longer period of time. It is easy to join Crossfit or start doing P90x and burn through all the fat, but … Read entire article »
Filed under: Entrepreneurship, Investing, Profit, Startups, stocks
TechCafe: Free Lunches and Startup Launches
Tweet The growing Seattle technology community is an amazing place. There are giants like Amazon and Microsoft, there are incubators like Techstars, Eastside Incubator, and Founders Institute, there a number of Angels, a number of Venture Capitalists, a wealth of students from some great institutions, and of course no shortage of startups with raw willpower to succeed. The glue holding all of these together are the events where connections of all shapes and sizes happen. From the occasional networking meetup at a bar with no agenda, to Poker 2.0, to the more formal events put on by WTIA, NWEN, or MIT Forum. Without a healthy dose of events for developers to meet business counterparts, founders to find a designer looking for work, or a room full of people to launch or … Read entire article »
Filed under: Entrepreneurship, NW events, Seattle, seattlelunch20, Startups, TechCafe, Technology
Advancing in Careers and Life
Tweet I came across this slide show from Bob Pritchett the other day in conjunction with the review cycle at Microsoft. Keep in mind that living in Seattle the review cycle over at Microsoft is what helps to raise potential real estate and angel investors and turn away potential entrepreneurs or other startup employees. That made this deck ring true even more as the principles here are important for corporate employees as much as they are for startup employees, students, and people trying to lead a great life in general. What are you doing that will advance your career, make you more money, or make you happy in life? Some of the points infer that things like a great degree doesn’t matter – e.g. there are 323k living Harvard Alumni – to put … Read entire article »
Filed under: career, Entrepreneurship, Microsoft, RealEstate
